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Ten Arkansas Properties Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Arkansas Historic Preservation Program - Thursday, February 01, 2018

Ten Arkansas properties have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of historically significant properties.

The newly listed properties are:

* Gentry Grand Army of the Republic Monument at Gentry in Benton County, a commemorative monument raised by Union veterans in 1918. “While Confederate
monuments erected in the years following the Civil War can be found scattered across Arkansas, including around thirty that are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places, Union monuments are much scarcer,” according to the National Register nomination. “The Minnesota Monument was placed in
Little Rock National Cemetery by the State of Minnesota in 1916. The Judsonia Grand Army of the Republic Monument was erected by the Sherman G.A.R.
Post in 1894 and the Siloam Springs Grand Army of the Republic Monument was placed by the Simon R. Curtis G.A.R. Post in 1928. The Gentry Grand Army
of the Republic Monument is thus one of only four historic resources closely associated with the fraternal activities of Union veterans in the state,
including the more than 120 Grand Army of the Republic chapters that existed in Arkansas.”

* Highfill School (No. 71) at Highfill in Benton County, a wood-frame vernacular educational structure built around 1911. “The Community
Building, previously Highfill School (No. 71), still stands proud and solid at the corner of the state highway close to the fire station,” the National
Register nomination says. “Though close to the highway, the residents of the community have not moved the structure for fear of the age and wear and
tear on the building. The building continues to be used frequently for club and social events and maintains its charm to all those who live in the
town. This school building is one of the only known surviving structures related to the early history of the Highfill community as a whole and one
of few surviving early school structures in Benton County.”

* Green Valley Homestead near Salem in Fulton County, an ensemble of log buildings constructed between 1936 and 1943. “The Green Valley
Homestead is an excellent example of an intact Rustic-style farmstead designed and built during the 1930s and 1940s in rural Fulton County,” according
to the National Register nomination. “The farmstead includes the main residence (Green House), a privy, a root cellar, a carriage house (garage and
workshop), a stone chicken coop, and a large barn as well as several stone site features including a fire pit, retaining walls, and patios. Construction
of the farmstead started in c. 1936 under the direction of the Green family, Mr. Glenn “Tom” Bernard Green and his wife Mrs. Inez Green, and continued
through c. 1943 when the stone chicken coop was completed.”

* House at 1920 South Main Street at Little Rock in Pulaski County, a ca. 1905 Folk Victorian-style cottage located in the South Main Street
Historic District. “In the original nomination for the South Main Street Residential Historic District, the House at 1920 South Main Street was considered
to be non-contributing to the District, due to extensive alterations, including the replacement of windows, alterations to the historic porch structure,
and the addition of synthetic siding, according to the National Register nomination. “However, due to the carrying out of a historic preservation tax
credit project, the building should now be considered to be a contributing resource within the South Main Street Residential Historic District. The
recent restoration project renovated the property closer to its original condition by restoring the windows, porch supports and removing the exterior
synthetic siding and restoring the original wooden horizontal siding underneath. As a result, the building is now considered to be a contributing resource
in the South Main Street Residential Historic District.”

* Greenwood School at Hot Springs in Garland County, a 1930 Art Deco-style building with a 1950 International-style addition. “In 1950,
Greenwood School was expanded through the addition of four classrooms, two at each end of the original school building in newly constructed upper level
atop the existing eastern and western bays, designed to match the Art Deco style of the original building,” according to the National Register nomination.
“Also, a new International Style combination Gymnasium-Auditorium-Cafeteria was added to the eastern side of the original building. This new multi-use
space allowed the original central auditorium space to be subdivided into additional classrooms. The additions, including the multi-use addition were
all designed by the school’s original architect, Irven D. McDaniel.”

* Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command Alert and Weapons Storage Area Historic District at Blytheville in Mississippi County,
containing the ca. 1959 support structures for a nuclear bomber base. “Though arriving late to the Strategic Air Command’s Bomber Alert Program, it
provided another installation that was able to augment SAC’s already strong ability to establish a one-third strike force that was able and ready to
provide a counterattack within 15 minutes, in the event of a Soviet-initiated strike on the United States,” according to the National Register nomination.
“It is through the constant efforts of SAC and its airmen that the bomber fleet was considered the backbone of the SAC deterrent posture.

* R.L. Leach Grocery Store at Dutch Mills in Washington County, a ca. 1925 Plain Traditional-style commercial building. “Built circa 1925,
the north half of the R.L. Leach Grocery Store is the original building sold to the Leaches by Johnny and Mary Jane Sparks, while the southern half
is from the Sycamore Filling Station, which was located across the road from the Leach store, and was owned by Will Sparks,” according to the National
Register nomination. “The R.L. Leach Grocery Store reflected the economic strategy employed by many postmasters at the time, further solidifying the
importance of the building to the community.”

* Elmwood Cemetery at Fort Smith in Sebastian County, containing burials dating to 1891 from the Sebastian County Poor Farm. “The poor
farm system was an important part of the social fabric in several Arkansas counties during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,” according
to the National Register nomination. “As county residents fell on hard times, the poor farm was often one of the only places that residents could turn
to for assistance. As a result, it was an important place for many residents. The fact that the poor farm also existed for over 50 years meant that
it was an important facility in Sebastian County for a significant length of time.”

* Fitzgerald Historic District at Fort Smith in Sebastian County, featuring buildings designed in the Folk Vernacular, Colonial Revival,
Tudor Revival, and Craftsman styles and dating to 1905. “Developed in the early-twentieth century, the neighborhood was home to middle- and working-class
citizens who built modest homes in the Folk Vernacular, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Craftsman styles,” the National Register nomination says.
“Most lots in the neighborhood were developed between 1920 and 1930. Only a few dwellings within the district were built after World War II with the
exception of two modern apartment buildings. The majority of dwellings in the district have not been significantly altered, and the district retains
a strong sense of time and place.”

* Robert Wanslow House at Fort Smith in Sebastian County, built in 1962 from a design by Wanslow and reflecting the Mid-Century Modern
style of architecture. “The design of the Robert Wanslow House reflects the increased relationship between the indoors and outdoors, as well as the
issue of privacy in house design,” according to the National Register nomination. “The design of the Wanslow House, with its sliding-glass doors on
the east and north sides encouraged residents and visitors to interact with the house’s surroundings. The placement of the large windows away from
the street also emphasized privacy for the house’s occupants from the street. The issue of privacy is also illustrated by the fact that the main entrance
does not face the street and is also recessed from the main plane of the façade.”

For more information on the National Register of Historic Places program, write the AHPP at 1100 North Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, call the agency at
(501) 324-9880 [TDD 501-324-9811], send e-mail to [email protected] or visit www.arkansaspreservation.org.

The AHPP is the Department of Arkansas Heritage division responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state’s cultural resources.
Other divisions are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission,
the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Historic Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas State Archives.

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The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program identifies, evaluates, registers, and preserves the state's historic and cultural resources and seeks to instill a preservation ethic in future generations of Arkansans. The agency also houses the Main Street Arkansas program, which works with local communities to revitalize downtown commercial areas.